An 11th hour appeal for national unity by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan on Thursday was credited with averting a split in the national coalition Cabinet. But some of Gen. Dayan’s Labor Party colleagues said today it was unseemly for Gen. Dayan to have intervened in the internal affairs of Gahal, the Herut-Liberal parties alignment.
Gahal, second largest party in the Government, voted 103-33 to stay in the coalition. The balloting stemmed from dissatisfaction with a remark attributed to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol in a Newsweek magazine interview that Israel did not wish to retain the heavily populated Arab centers of the West Bank. Gahal is opposed to withdrawal from the occupied territories. Gen. Dayan, in an unprecedented appearance, urged alignment leaders to avert “a tremendous blow to Israel’s capacity to face the grave challenges ahead.”
Menahem Beigin, leader of the militant nationalistic Herut faction, said Gen. Dayan’s appearance influenced the vote. Sources close to Gen. Dayan said his plea was made as a Cabinet member, not as a party member. Had Gahal left the Government, the remaining coalition partners would have still commanded 106 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Gahal has 22 Knesset seats.
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